About Stockholm

Stockholm, Capital of Sweden

Stockholm is sometimes called the Venice of the North, both because of all the water in and around the city and for its sheer beauty. Our wondrous capital city is built on 14 islands and the water is clean enough for salmon fishing and bathing.

A warm welcome to a fashion-conscious city that maintains a high standard of shopping, food, culture, and entertainment! There is something for everyone.

“It waited for him, the city that had been in his dreams for so long,” Naturally, the city that Per Anders Fogelström refers to in his book “City of My Dreams” is Stockholm. Sometimes, life here can seem dreamlike – rub your eyes, you are awake, and you are standing before a smörgåsbord of unforgettable experiences. With its 750-year history and rich cultural life, our capital offers something for all tastes. Stockholm’s contrasting environment reflects city life and how it has emerged over the centuries. And the well-preserved houses and buildings tell the story of how a small island at the outlet of Lake Mälaren grew to be the Kingdom’s capital, a multicultural metropolis and one of the world’s most beautiful cities.

We find the first document mentioning Stockholm already back in 1252. It was signed by Birger Jarl who is said to have founded Stockholm to protect Sweden from attacks by enemy fleets.

The story of how the city got its name is shrouded in mystery, but one theory is that the name is derived from the city’s original fortifications, constructed out of timber (or “stokker”), found where Lake Mälaren meets Saltsjön. Another theory is that the word “stock” is Old Swedish for “a collection of” and “holm” is islet. In other words, Stockholm could refer to “a collection of islets.”